In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Answer

The answer to the following question will be given in the following way. The Bismillahir rahmanir Rahim in v. 30 of Surah Namal is a part of the Holy Quran according to the consensus of all the scholars.

The next issue is the Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim before the start of all the Surahs, whether it is the part of the Holy Qur’an or not. Imam Malik (RA) has said it is not part of the Holy Qur’an. Imam Shafi (RA) has said it is a part of Surah Fatiha. Then there are two opinions with regards to the remaining Surahs of the Holy Qur’an, with the most preferred being that it is part of the Holy Qur’an. Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) is of the view that it is part of the Holy Quran, but it is there to differentiate or act as a gap between two Surahs. (Dars Tirimizi p.505 v.1)

With regards to your question bearing in mind there are 114 Surahs in the Holy Qur’an but Surah Tawbah does not have Bismillah at the beginning and adding the Bismillah in Surah Namal there is a total of 114 Bismillahs in the Holy Qur’an.

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham